My buddy Steve tried to lay laminate right over a hump in his kitchen floor. The planks started cracking within a week. Had to rip it all out and level the subfloor.
Laminate can't handle uneven floors at all. Gavin's cousin had the same issue with vinyl planks popping. The subfloor needs to be flat, not just level. A hump puts pressure on the locking system and causes cracks.